I learned about it in high school, and that was 80s/90s but not by name per se. I took the ASVAB and there were questions like "fold a piece of paper in half twice, punch holes in a pattern, and then pick which image would be the result when the paper is unfolded" that I thought were ridiculously easy. I was told that they were difficult for people that cannot form mental images and these help test that ability.